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Alcohol, Necessary for Today's Society?

As we all know, alcohol has come under fire recently. It has some pretty nasty effects on the brain, it can be linked to 40 or so per cent of crimes, and it causes some pretty bad social relations for people who abuse it. Ok, so it's bad, who cares. My question is, can society do without it? Some say (Weasel Words, what's up) that it has become so ingrained in today's day and age that we are too far gone to get rid of it, that it is needed to help people cope with their shitty lives. Is this viewpoint true? I plan to make a detailed post about the topic, but I want to hear some opinions first

For most people it's just another drink, a way to enjoy some down time. Sure it has it downsides, perhaps more so than any other consumable resource, but it's a choice to use it. Does it help people cope with their lives? Ehhh... Possibly. This really depends on a addiction level, as anyone with an addiction will tell you that getting their fix is the bet part of their day. To a moderate drinker, it probably has no effect on their emotions.

Well, I open my eyes and I see things. I've seen spirits moving through the walls. I've seen a vortex coming through the wall. I've seen amorphous little balls of light bouncing all around in the front yard through the window. I've seen giant bugs on the floor. I was in a hotel room in Amarillo, Texas, and all I remember is standing on the bed and seeing the whole wall in front of me filled with lights that were [makes popping sound] popping like popcorn out of the wall. Then I'll wake up and I go "Wow, I was standing on my bed and staring at this wall."

what about the people who don't drink....... i guess they just can't cope without that alcohol

If all of the consumable alcohol in the U.S./any other western country was taken away everyone in the country would be affected. It'd be like saying "It wouldn't matter to most people if the nation's coal supplies were suddenly depleted, not everyone works in the coal industry"

Of course alcohol is bad for you. I don't think you can effectively take down though, nor do I think you should, because I believe people have the right to get as impaired as they want, and consequences are on their heads. And history has shown that prohibition just leads to more issues. One would need to literally clean the slate of any knowledge of such drugs from the entirety of society. This might be something to toy with when we do interplanetary exploration, but even then people might just make up new drugs on their own. A society will always have it's crutch, and alcohol isn't a terrible one.